argos tv brings new and old works from the soɓɹɐ collection to your personal screen. Each first Thursday of the month, a new film runs on our website during the whole month, entirely free. The film is also shown on the window display at Koopliedenstraat 62 Rue des Commerçants (next to the rile* entrance). Looking for more art videos? Feel free to browse our entire catalogue in our library.

argos tv67: In Memoriam – Peter Downsbrough, 7 Come 11 (1980)

In 1980, Peter Downsbrough (New Brunswick, USA 1940 – Brussels, Belgium 2024) rented the iconic animated-light billboard Spectacolor Board in Times Square, New York, to present his work The Dice. Over the course of four days, his 30-second spot featuring rolling dice appeared every half hour, accompanied by the phrases “The Dice are not loaded” and “Yes they are". Echoing the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé, who used the image of dice as a metaphor for chance and randomness, Downsbrough’s The Dice captured the dynamic pulse of Times Square. His intervention blended visual simplicity with linguistic play, offering an innovative form of public art. 7 Come 11 is a documentation of The Dice.

Though less widely known than his contemporaries, Downsbrough nevertheless played an important role in minimalist and conceptual art. His work spans sculpture, graphics, photography, video, film, and books, often exploring the intersections of architecture, text, and typography. He frequently cut words and made simple geometric figures to create a new syntax, challenging viewers to rethink their interpretation of space and language. In this vein, he conceived for instance the work AND/MAAR, OP - AND/POUR/ET on both ends of the Emile Jacqmain boulevard in Brussels. argos had the pleasure of collaborating with Downsbrough on multiple occasions including a participation in the publication of Position (2004), the first comprehensive monograph on his work, along with the production of the film Thru (2003), which highlighted his significant contributions to contemporary art.